Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
  • H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
  • H01M8/02—Details
  • H01M8/0202—Collectors; Separators, e.g. bipolar separators; Interconnectors
  • H01M8/0204—Non-porous and characterised by the material
  • H01M8/0223—Composites
  • H01M8/0228—Composites in the form of layered or coated products
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
  • H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
  • H01M8/02—Details
  • H01M8/0202—Collectors; Separators, e.g. bipolar separators; Interconnectors
  • H01M8/0204—Non-porous and characterised by the material
  • H01M8/0206—Metals or alloys
  • H01M8/0208—Alloys
  • H01M8/021—Alloys based on iron
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
  • Y02E60/00—Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
  • Y02E60/30—Hydrogen technology
  • Y02E60/50—Fuel cells
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
  • Y02P70/00—Climate change mitigation technologies in the production process for final industrial or consumer products
  • Y02P70/50—Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T156/00—Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
  • Y10T156/10—Methods of surface bonding and/or assembly therefor

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a fuel cell separator, and more particularly to a coating technique for a fuel cell separator.
• the fuel cell that converts chemical energy obtained by reacting a fuel gas containing hydrogen with an oxidizing gas containing oxygen into electric energy.
• the fuel cell is mounted on, for example, a vehicle and used as a power source for a motor for driving the vehicle.
• Parts that require corrosion resistance are used in fuel cells to prevent corrosion caused by water generated after chemical reactions.
• separators fuel cell separators used in fuel cells are coated with a resin coating to improve corrosion resistance.
• Patent Document 1 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2 0 0 6 -800 0 2 6
• the inventors of the present application have continued research and development on new coating technology based on the ground-breaking technology described in Patent Document 1.
• a fuel cell separator is a fuel cell separator in which a conductive separator and a resin coat are applied to a plate-shaped separator substrate, and the separator substrate includes A power generation region facing the power generation layer and a peripheral region including an opening functioning as a manifold, and the peripheral region is provided with a resin coat so that the separator base material is exposed at least at a part thereof.
• An opening functioning as a manifold is coated with a resin coat, and the power generation region is provided with a conductive coat by being energized through a portion of the peripheral region where the separator base material is exposed.
• the conductive coat is formed of a material in which at least one of the conductivity and the corrosion resistance is better than the surface of the separator substrate.
• Specific examples of the conductive coat include metal plating.
• the conductive coat and the resin coat are realized by, for example, an electrodeposition process.
• the conductive coating for the conductive coating becomes relatively easy by applying the conductive coating through the portion where the separator base material in the peripheral region is exposed. Furthermore, for example, current concentration is less likely to occur in the power generation region, and the conductive coating can be applied more uniformly and densely.
• the portion of the peripheral region where the separator base material is exposed is a positioning portion used for positioning the battery cells when assembling a fuel cell by stacking a plurality of battery cells.
• a production method is a method for producing a fuel cell separator by applying a conductive coat and a resin coat to a plate-like separator substrate, A first coating step in which a resin coating is applied to a peripheral region of a separator base material including an opening functioning as a manifold so that the separator base material is exposed in at least a part of the peripheral region; and the peripheral region
• the conductive coating is applied to the power generation region of the separator base material facing the power generation layer by energizing the separator base material from the portion where the separator base material is exposed.
• the second coating step is a step of applying a metal coating as a conductive coating to a separator substrate in which a peripheral region including an opening is masked by the resin coating of the first coating step. It is characterized by that.
• the portion of the peripheral region where the separator base material is exposed is used for positioning the battery cells when assembling a fuel cell by stacking a plurality of battery cells.
• the present invention provides a new coating technique for fuel cell separators.
• a fuel cell separator can be provided in which an opening functioning as a hold is coated with a resin coat, and a conductive coat is applied to the power generation region.
• the resin coat functions as a mask when applying the conductive coat, and masking work for the conductive coat is performed. It can be omitted.
• the energization for the conductive coating becomes relatively easy. Furthermore, for example, current concentration is less likely to occur in the power generation region, and the conductive coating can be applied more uniformly and densely.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a fuel cell separator 10 according to the present invention.
• FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining how the fuel cell separator is masked by the masking jig.
• FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the structure of the masking jig.
• FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the coating process of the fuel cell separator. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
• FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a fuel cell separator 10 according to the present invention.
• the fuel cell separator 10 is a plate-like member whose front and back surfaces are substantially rectangular.
• the fuel cell separator 10 is formed of a conductive material such as, for example, a US material or carbon.
• the fuel cell separator 10 includes a power generation region 12 facing the power generation layer at the center of a substantially rectangular surface.
• a battery cell is formed by sandwiching a MEA (membrane electrode assembly) that functions as a power generation layer between two fuel cell separators 10, it faces the power generation region 12 of the fuel cell separator 10.
• MEA membrane electrode assembly
• a fuel cell is formed by laminating a plurality of battery cells sandwiching MEA by two fuel cell separators 10.
• the fuel cell separator 10 has a plurality of openings 14 and short side portions 16 in a peripheral portion of a substantially rectangular surface, that is, a peripheral region other than the power generation region 12 surrounding the power generation region 12. I have.
• the fuel cell separator 10 is provided with three openings 14 at both ends in the longitudinal direction, and short side portions 16 at both ends (left and right ends) in the longitudinal direction. ing. Note that the positions and shapes of the openings 14 and Z or the short side portions 16 shown in FIG. 1 are merely examples.
• the opening 14 provided in the fuel cell separator 10 functions as a hold when the fuel cell separator 10 forms a fuel cell. In the manifold, the water produced after the chemical reaction between the fuel gas and the oxidizing gas flows. Therefore, a resin coat is applied to the openings 14 forming the manifolds to prevent corrosion due to the generated water.
• the resin coat is applied to substantially the entire peripheral area of the fuel cell separator 10. That is, in FIG. 1, the resin coating is applied to the region (except the short side portion 16) other than the power generation region 12 of the fuel cell separator 10. On the other hand, the power generation region 12 is provided with a conductive coating over substantially the entire region.
• the fuel cell separator When the resin coating is applied to the peripheral area of the data 10, a masking jig for masking the area where the resin coating is unnecessary is used.
• FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrams for explaining a masking jig 50 used in the present embodiment.
• the masking jig 50 sandwiches the plate-like fuel cell separator 10 from both the front and back surfaces, and masks areas where the resin coating on the front and back surfaces of the fuel cell separator 10 is not required.
• FIG. 2 is a view for explaining how the fuel cell separator 10 is masked by the masking jig 50.
• FIG. 2 shows a state in which the fuel cell separator 10 is sandwiched between two masking jigs 50 from the side surface (long side) of the fuel cell separator 10.
• Each masking jig 50 has a structure in which a frame-shaped frame 54 is stacked on a plate-shaped resin protective material 52, and a masking material 56 is stacked on the frame 54.
• the two masking jigs 50 sandwich the fuel cell separator 10 and come into close contact with the fuel cell separator 10, the two tightening jigs are attached from both ends (left and right) in the longitudinal direction of the fuel cell separator 10, that is, from the short side. Ingredient 60 is inserted.
• the masking jig 50 is fixed by the two fastening jigs 60 in a state where the two masking jigs 50 sandwich the fuel cell separator 10.
• FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the structure of the masking jig 50, and FIG. 3 shows the masking jig 50 as viewed from the side in contact with the fuel cell separator 10.
• a frame-shaped masking material 5 6 a is provided at the center of the masking jig 50.
• the masking material 5 6 a is provided so as to surround the central region of the masking jig 50.
• the area surrounded by the masking material 5 6 a corresponds to the power generation area (reference numeral 1 2 in FIG. 1) of the fuel cell separator.
• the masking material 5 6 a comes into close contact with the outer periphery of the power generation region of the fuel cell separator.
• the masking material 5 6 a is provided around the entire circumference without any gaps. By sticking along the outer periphery of the power generation area, the entire power generation area is masked.
• the masking jig 50 is provided with a current-carrying portion 58 in an area surrounded by the masking material 56 a.
• the current-carrying part 58 comes into contact with the fuel cell separator when the masking material 56a is brought into close contact with the outer periphery of the power generation region. Then, a voltage is applied from the energizing portion 58 to the fuel cell separator during masking with the masking material 56a. As will be described later, the resin is electrodeposited on the surface of the fuel cell separator by the voltage applied from the current-carrying portion 58.
• rod-shaped masking material 56 b is provided along the short side at both ends (left and right ends) of the masking jig 50 in the longitudinal direction. Then, when the masking jig 50 sandwiches the fuel cell separator, the masking material 56 b is brought into close contact with both ends in the longitudinal direction of the fuel cell separator along the short side of the fuel cell separator.
• a resin coating is applied to the fuel cell separator using a masking jig 50. Further, after the resin coating is applied, the conductive coating is applied to the fuel cell separator. Therefore, the coating process in this embodiment will be described next.
• FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the coating process of the fuel cell separator 10.
• 4A to 4D show the surface portion of the fuel cell separator 10 for each coating process.
• Each of FIGS. 4A to 4D shows the fuel cell separator 10 from its side surface (long side).
• FIG. 4 shows the coating treatment only on one surface (upper surface) of the fuel cell separator 10. However, the other surface (lower surface) of the fuel cell separator 10 is coated in the same manner as the one surface. Is done.
• FIG. 4 (A) shows a state where the surface of the fuel cell separator 10 is masked.
• the masking jig reference numeral 50 in FIG. 3
• the masking material 5 6 a, 5 6 of the masking jig is in close contact with the surface of the fuel cell separator 10. Show.
• the masking material 5 6 a adheres along the outer periphery of the power generation region of the fuel cell separator 10, thereby Mask. That is, in FIG. 4 (A), the surface of the fuel cell separator 10 in contact with the masking material 56a is masked. Further, the masking material 56 b is in close contact with both ends (left and right ends) of the fuel cell separator 10 in the longitudinal direction along the short side of the fuel cell separator 10. That is, in FIG. 4 (A), the portion (short side portion 16 in FIG. 4 (D)) in contact with the masking material 56b of the fuel cell separator 10 is masked.
• the resin film 70 is coated on the surface of the fuel cell separator 10 in a state masked by the masking materials 56a and 56b.
• an electrodeposition process for example, polyimide or polyamide imide electrodeposition
• a cationic resin obtained by ionizing a part of the resin powder is used for the fuel cell separator 10. Electrodeposit on the surface. During the electrodeposition process, a negative ion voltage is applied to the fuel cell separator 10 and a positive voltage is applied to the counter electrode in a solution containing a cationic resin, whereby a positive ion is applied to the fuel cell separator 10 side. The cationic resin is attracted, and the cationic resin is adhered to the surface of the fuel cell separator 10.
• the fuel cell separator 10 is masked over the region not masked by the masking materials 56a and 56b, that is, in the substantially entire region of the peripheral region of the fuel cell separator 10. Cationic sebum adheres.
• the resin powder is uniformly and densely coated on the surface of the fuel cell separator 10 in the power generation region 12 and the region excluding the short side portion 16 (see FIG. 1).
• a negative electrode voltage is applied to the current-carrying portion of the masking jig (reference numeral 5 8 in FIG. 3) ⁇ fuel cell separator 10. As described above (see FIG. 3), the current-carrying portion comes into contact with the fuel cell separator 10 in the power generation area masked by the masking material 56a. That is, a voltage for electrodepositing the resin is applied from a power generation region where the resin is not electrodeposited.
• the masking jig is removed from the fuel cell separator 10, and a baking process is performed in which the resin powder is baked on the surface of the fuel cell separator 10. To do. Then, the resin powder adhering to the surface of the fuel cell separator 10 is melted to make the resin coat more uniform and dense, and then the resin is cured to produce a fuel cell separator.
• a resin film 70 is formed on the surface of 10.
• Dense coating of resin is possible even with only electrodeposition treatment, but by dissolving the resin in the baking treatment, the very few pores that existed between the resin and the resin are completely blocked, making it extremely dense. Thus, a uniform resin film 70 is formed.
• the resin film 70 is formed in substantially the entire peripheral region of the fuel cell separator 10, thereby opening the aperture functioning as a manifold (reference numeral in FIG. 1). 1 4) is coated with a resin film 70.
• the plating film 80 is coated on the surface of the fuel cell separator 10 on which the resin film 70 is formed.
• Electrodeposition treatment is also used to coat the plating film 8, and ionized metal (for example, gold complex ions) is electrodeposited on the surface of the fuel cell separator 10.
• ionized metal for example, gold complex ions
• the fuel cell separator 10 is turned to the force sword side to cause a current to flow, thereby attracting the complex ions to the fuel cell separator 10 side.
• the metal in complex ions is attached to the 0 surface.
• the resin film 70 since the resin film 70 is formed on the fuel cell separator 10, the resin film 70 having insulation functions as masking.
• the metal in the complexion adheres to the region where the resin film 70 is not formed, that is, the power generation region of the fuel cell separator 10, thereby forming the plating film 80.
• the short side part 1 6 is The fuel cell separator 10 (separator base material) formed of a material having conductivity is exposed, and an electric current for electrodepositing metal complex ions from the exposed short side portion 16 is generated. Be loaded.
• the resin film 70 is formed in the peripheral region (except for the short side portion 16) of the fuel cell separator 10, and the plating film is formed in the power generation region of the fuel cell separator 10. 80 is formed.
• the adhesive film 80 is formed after the resin film 70 is formed on the fuel cell separator 10, and the adhesive film 80 is interposed between the fuel cell separator 10 and the resin film 70. do not do. Therefore, the durability of adhesion between the fuel cell separator 10 and the resin film 70 is extremely high.
• the resin film 7 ⁇ functions as a mask to form a plating film 8.0, forming a continuous coat with the boundary between the resin film 70 and the adhesive film 80 in contact with each other. Yes. Therefore, corrosion hardly occurs starting from the boundary between the resin film 70 and the adhesive film 80.
• the resin film 70 functions as masking, it is possible to omit the masking operation for forming the adhesive film 80.
• the short side portion 16 where the fuel cell separator 10 (separator base material) is exposed is used when a plurality of battery cells formed by the fuel cell separator 10 are stacked to assemble a fuel cell. It also functions as a positioning unit used for positioning between cells.
• the outline of the positioning technology described in this publication is as follows.
• reference numerals in parentheses are those described in the publication.
• the first metal separator (reference numeral 14) is provided with metal exposed portions (reference numerals 46a, 46b, 46c), and the second metal separator (reference numeral 16) is provided with metal exposed portions (reference numerals 56a, 5). 6 b, 56 c) shall be provided.
• An electrolyte membrane / electrode structure (reference numeral 12) is sandwiched between the first metal separator and the second metal separator, and the fuel cell
• the assembly device (symbol 80) for stacking a plurality of fuel cells (symbol 1 0) and assembling the fuel cell stack (symbol 60) has a support rod (symbol 1 0 6a, 1 06 b, 1 08). ) Is provided. Then, the metal exposed portion of each fuel cell (symbol 10) is brought into contact with the support rod extending in the stacking direction of the separator, so that the plurality of fuel cells (symbol 10) are accurately positioned.
• the short side portion 16 (positioning portion) force from which the fuel cell separator 10 is exposed bears the function of the metal exposed portion in the above publication.
• the short side portion 16 (positioning part) of the fuel cell separator 10 is Used for positioning between battery cells.
• the assembly device supports the short side portion 16 (positioning portion), whereby the position of each battery cell is determined, and a plurality of battery cells Is positioned accurately.
• the exposed metal portion can be used not only for stacking cells but also for positioning the separators in the case of manufacturing cells by sandwiching a membrane electrode assembly with a pair of separators. In either case, the metal exposed part has high positioning accuracy by the positioning jig because the resin does not adhere to the end face (side face) of the separator.
• the electrodeposition process is used at the time of resin coating, but the resin coating may be realized by injection molding or the like instead of the electrodeposition process.
• a coating process such as coating, vapor deposition, sputtering, or ion plating may be used instead of the electrodeposition process.
• gold Au
• the conductive coating is realized by copper, silver, platinum, palladium, carbon, etc. May be.
• the masking material 5 6 b is masked to expose the short side portion 16, but the masking material 5 6 b is not used and the short side portion 16 is exposed.
• the resin film 70 may be formed also on the side portion 16, and then the short side portion 16 may be exposed by partially removing the resin film 70 of the short side portion 16.
• the short side portion 16 of the fuel cell separator 10 is exposed, but the long side of the fuel cell separator 10 is exposed. You may expose at least one part of a part.
• the fastening jig 60 is inserted from the short side of the fuel cell separator 10, but the fastening jig is inserted from the long side of the fuel cell separator 10. 6 0 may be inserted.

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• 2006
  • 2006-09-04 JP JP2006239442A patent/JP5138912B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2007
  • 2007-08-10 US US12/377,941 patent/US20090324812A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2007-08-10 CN CN2007800327168A patent/CN101512807B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2007-08-10 WO PCT/JP2007/065993 patent/WO2008029605A1/ja active Search and Examination
  • 2007-08-10 DE DE112007002029.6T patent/DE112007002029B8/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2007-08-10 CA CA2660698A patent/CA2660698C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related

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